14 Love Lessons I Learned From Binge-Watching Friends

As soon as I heard every single episode of Friends was coming to Netflix, I knew I could chalk up the beginning of the year as a loss. How could I actually drag myself out of my apartment to get things done when the gang was waiting to share their escapades with me? It just wasn't going to happen. During my binge-watch, I've realized Friends has so many invaluable love lessons that everyone could stand to learn from, so I can pretty much call it research. Here are my favorite takeaways (spoilers abound!). Age matters. Remember when Ross dated his student Elizabeth? They were so into each other but also in two totally different places in their lives, so they weren't a good fit. This was proved when, after he dumped her, Elizabeth pelted Ross with a water balloon much like a kindergartner would. Attraction can grow. In the cases of two of the series' most amazing love stories, there was no mutual spark in the beginning. Ross loved Rachel since their high school days, but it took her a while to come around. Chandler and Monica were friends for years before they realized they had explosive chemistry between the

As soon as I heard every single episode of Friends was coming to Netflix, I knew I could chalk up the beginning of the year as a loss. How could I actually drag myself out of my apartment to get things done when the gang was waiting to share their escapades with me? It just wasn't going to happen. During my binge-watch, I've realized Friends has so many invaluable love lessons that everyone could stand to learn from, so I can pretty much call it research. Here are my favorite takeaways (spoilers abound!).

Age matters. Remember when Ross dated his student Elizabeth? They were so into each other but also in two totally different places in their lives, so they weren't a good fit. This was proved when, after he dumped her, Elizabeth pelted Ross with a water balloon much like a kindergartner would.

Attraction can grow. In the cases of two of the series' most amazing love stories, there was no mutual spark in the beginning. Ross loved Rachel since their high school days, but it took her a while to come around. Chandler and Monica were friends for years before they realized they had explosive chemistry between the sheets. It's awesome when someone can knock you off your feet the second you meet him, but that doesn't mean slow-burn love is any less incredible.

You've got to accept your love's faults. Speaking of Chandler and Monica, he had to come to terms with Monica's obsessive cleanliness. More than just accepting it, it seemed like something he came to love about her. She grew to adore his constant jokes and inability to take a good picture.

As a woman, you should go after what you want. Rachel, Phoebe, and Monica asked guys out, professed their feelings, and dumped men when necessary. If they didn't feel like letting a man make the first move, they made it themselves! Monica getting down on her knees before Chandler in a candlelit room is one of the best examples of this phenomenon.

Fighting with your friend over a love interest isn't worth it. Over the course of 10 seasons, the friends often squabbled over prospective partners. To name a few, Monica and Phoebe fought over the guy who was in a coma in the hospital, Rachel and Monica argued over Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Joey and Chandler got into what was almost a friendship-ending war over Kathy, the actress they both fell in love with. In the end, none of those relationships mattered as much as the friendships.

Say the right name at your wedding. Ross saying Rachel instead of Emily at his wedding is one of those iconic moments that tells you everything you need to know about a character. Ross was always head over heels in love with Rachel, and anyone else was a distraction.

Sometimes love isn't enough. Monica and her eye doctor Richard were completely infatuated with each other. Too bad they couldn't overcome the age difference, which was more important than it seemed. He didn't want the whole marriage and kids thing, while that was one of her biggest dreams. They eventually broke up because even though they really loved each other, their life goals were just too different.

__Know the difference between a break and a breakup. __ Ross and Rachel confused the issue a bit, which led to one of the biggest fights (and best memes) in TV history. No matter how happy they are for the rest of time, Rachel will maintain that she and Ross were on a break when he had sex with the cute girl from the copy place, while he'll insist that they were broken up and that was fair game.

Conversation is key. Remember when Phoebe was super into that diplomat, but they couldn't communicate when his translator wasn't around? All the kismet in the world can't overcome that kind of barrier.

Don't take things personally. Was Ross upset that his first wife and baby's mother Carol was a lesbian? Sure, it marked the end of his relationship with her. But could he actually take it personally? Not really, since there was nothing he could do about not being a woman. If someone's looking for something that's completely different from you, shake it off a la Taylor Swift and keep it moving.

Date a lot. If any of the six characters weren't in an exclusive relationship, they were usually waltzing into Central Perk and saying something like, "So you know that cutie at work I told you about? We're going out tomorrow!" Everyone, guy or girl, took the initiative in going after people. They knew experimentation was key to finding their lobster (a.k.a. the person they were supposed to be with forever. Thanks for that, Phoebe!).

Take your guy at face value. Over the seasons, Joey was a total ladies' man. Various women tried to change him, left hints that they were relationship material, and basically tried to turn him into something he wasn't. A guy like that isn't going to commit until he's ready, point-blank period.

Don't leave a pros-and-cons list where someone can find it. Ross made a rookie mistake when he was choosing between Rachel and Julie, a woman he met while he was in China. In making a pros-and-cons list, he wrote out every unsavory thought about Rachel, like that she was "just a waitress" and had chubby ankles. None of it mattered to him because she was his dream girl. Still, she was so hurt when she found it that it threw a wrench into their relationship in a big way.

Timing is everything. Ross and Rachel are a valid option for a one true pairing (that is, a TV or movie couple you think is meant to be together more than any other). But it took about 10 seasons for them to actually get their act together and make it work. Usually, one would fall in love with the other right as the other would decide to move on, then vice versa. It was all a matter of timing, and they had to get that game-playing out of their systems before they could get on the same page.

What were the biggest love lessons you learned from Friends? Which were your favorite pairings?